Switch handle



Patented Mar. ll, i924.

l ora.

GEORGE B. THOMAS, OF BRIDGEPORT. CONNECTICUT, SSIGNOR TO THE BRYANT ELEC- TRIO COMPANY, OE BRIDGEPGRT, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTI- CUT.

SINITCH HANDLE.

Application ed September 22, 1921.

T all whom it may concern.'

Be it known thatI, GEORGE B. THOMAS,

a citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch Handles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to switch handles, l0 and particularly to handles :tor rotary snap switches. The object of my invention is to provide a switch handle of simple construction having permanently associated therewith both a spring washer for holding the switch cover in place, and also the securing screw by which the handle is attached to the switch spindle.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a rotary snap switch to which my improved handle is applied;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation of the handle drawn to considerably enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of the spring washer detached;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6, Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a perspective of a modiiied construction of the sleeve; and

Fig. 8 is a plan of the blank from which it is made.

The customary thumb piece or handle for operating rotary snap switches is made detachable from the switch spindle in order that the switch casing may be removed for access to the wire terminals and operating parts on the switch base. When the handle is removed, the small spring washer, which Vis ordinarily interposed between the handle and the switch cover to press the latter firmly down upon the base, is detached, and being ree is often lost. As a consequence the handle is frequently re-ass'embled without it, thus leaving the cover objectionably loose on the base. Furthermore, when the handle is secured to the switch spindle by means oit' a separate screw, the removal of the screw is necessary bei-ore the handle can be detached, and this loose screw is frequently lost. In the present handle the spring washer and the securing screw are both permanently associated with the han- Serial No. 502,437.

dle, while the latter is nevertheless freely removable from the spindle.

In the accompanying drawings, the switch handle 7 is illustrated in connection with a snap switch of standard construction, having an insulating base 8 upon which the switch mechanism (not shown) is mounted and enclosed by the usual casing 9 with insulating lining 10. On the top 11 of the casing are legends 12, and the switch handle 7 is provided with a pointer 13 which registers with the legends in the dillerent positions of the switch mechanism.

Projecting through thetop of the casing is the switch spindle 14, the outer end of which is tapped at 15 to receive a screw 16, by which the switch handle is secured in position thereon. The spindle is also provided with a cross pin 17 adapted to enter a notch 18 in the switch handle, and thus establish an operative engagement between the parts. Y

The insulating button, which forms the switch handle, is pierced to receive a shouldered sleeve 19, the rectangular portion 20 of which is seated in a rectangular well 21, forming portion of the hole through the button. rIhe neck 22 of the sleeve projects beyond the face of the button a suitlcient distance to accommodate the collar 23 of the spring washer 24, and the rolled-over margin of the neck secures the washer permanently to the handle. The outer end of the sleeve is rolled over in the well 25 in the outer face of the button, thus riveting the sleeve and spring washer 24 to the thumb piece. In order to accommodate the pin 17 of the spindle 14, the sleeve 19 is slotted at 26 in register with the notch 18 in the switch handle 7. For the same purpose the spring washer 24 and its collar 23 are slotted at 27. In order to insure the registry of the slots 26 and 27 with the notch 18, the spring washer is provided with a pair of positioning lugs 28, which enter corresponding recesses 29 in the inner tace of the button.

To retain the securing screw 16 in the switch handle when the latter is detached from the spindle 14, I mount on the plain shank 30 of the screw intermediate its head and the rolled thread thereof, a spring bushing 31. The over-all diameter of the latter is such that it snugly lits within and frictionally engages the inner wall of the sleeve 19, while its internal diameter is such that, in inserted and contracted position within the sleeve, it engages the raised threads 32 of the screw. The latter is thus secured to the handle with sucient lost motion to permit it to be properly manipulated without displacing the bushing. That is to say, the length of the bushing is so predetermined with relation to the length of the sleeve and the position of the spindle 14, when the parts are assembled, that the unscrewing action is completed before the threads on the screw engage the bushing. There is consequently no danger' that the bushing will be forced out of the sleeve when the screw 16 is turned out of the spindle 14.

It is obvious that the permanent engagement of the spring washer on the handle is o1 value regardless of the manner in which the handle is secured to the spindle. Likewise, the retention of the securing screw is of value regardless of the particular way in which the operative engagement between the handle and the spindle is established. Again, the particular construction of the sleeve and other parts may be variously modified. Thus, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, it may be rolled up from a sheet metal blank, having two cylindrical sections 33 and 34C, the latter being of greater diameter and having wings 35 which enter the slot 18 in the handle body and are spaced apart to accommodate the pin 17 on the spindle. The width of the slot 18 and its depth may both be enlarged to accommodate the wings 35 in this construction. The opposite ends of the sleeve may be rolled over to secure the sleeve and the spring bushing in position, in precisely the same manner as that iirst described.

The constructions shown are obviously but illustrative embodiments ot what I claim as my invention.

I claim- 1. A handle Jfor rotary snap switches comprising a button recessed to receive a switch spindle, a sleeve secured within said recess, and a cover-pressing spring washer secured by said sleeve to the button.

2. A handle for rotary snap switches comprising a button pierced to receive a switch spindle, a sleeve secured within the passage through the button, together with a screw v mounted with lost motion in said sleeve for securing the button to the switch spindle.

3. A handle orrotary snap switches comprising a button pierced to receive a switch spindle, a sleeve secured within the hole through the button, a cover-pressing spring washer attached to the button by the said sleeve, a spindle-engagingv screw and means for retaining said screw with lost motion in the sleeve.

et. A handle for rotary snap switches comprising a button pierced to accommodate the end of a switch spindle, a screw for engaging said spindle to secure the button thereto, and means carried by the handle and engaging the screw to retain the latter with lost motion in the handle.

5. A handle for rotary snap switches comprising a pierced button, a sleevesecured within the same and laterally slotted for detachable engagement with a projection on a switch spindle, in combination with a cover-pressingspring washer secured to the handle by said sleeve and also slotted to accommodate said lateral projection on the switch spindle.V

6. A handle for rotary snap switches comprising a pierced button, a sleeve secured within the same and laterally slotted for detachable engagement with a projection on Y a switch spindle, in combination with a cover-pressing spring washer secured to the handle by said sleeve and also slotted to accommodate 4said lateral projection on the switch spindle, together with a screw carried by the. sleeve and adapted to engage theV bythe screw thread to prevent the escape of the screw from the button when the latter is detached from the spindle. f

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specilication. Y

GEORGE B. Tir-ioMa's.V 

